SABA Chapter 10

“Wow!” Jiang Tiao, ever the good sport, gave a clap…

In front of the camera, He Xinran was a completely different person from his usual self in the dressing room. Upon hearing about the trio’s predicament, He Xinran immediately offered his sincere concern and well wishes.

“The environment was so dark, you didn’t fall or get hurt, did you?”

[Sob sob sob, my husband is still so gentle.]

[He really is, I’m crying. Regardless of whether he’s on screen or off, he’s my ideal type.]

[Sob sob sob, only Ranran would worry about them falling while running in such a dark environment.]

Jiang Tiao was stunned. He turned to Luo Xingwen, “Is his brain broken? Has he been possessed?”

Bei Caijie couldn’t help but chuckle, but quickly smoothed her smiling lips, pretending to be an oblivious background character.

If only she knew what she had endured with He Xinran all along. She was almost nauseated by He Xinran’s act!

Truly, every wicked person gets what they deserve. Bei Caijie felt her mood lighten considerably.

He Xinran’s face flickered between pale and red. He forced a smile, “It’s good that you’re here. Caijie and I have been here for a while and haven’t figured out anything.”

The room they were in was a study in medieval European style. Opposite them was a wall entirely filled with bookshelves, laden with books. In front of the bookshelf stood a solid wood desk with several drawers, appearing very substantial. Three walls were adorned with oil paintings, creating an overall opulent atmosphere.

“Wuu… wu… wuwuwu…”

A woman’s sobbing suddenly echoed through the room, mournful and hollow, like a female ghost in the wilderness, sounding particularly eerie.

Jiang Tiao and the other two were clearly startled, all three shivering in unison.

Bei Caijie was cute and intelligent, the typical quirky and lively girl. Seeing their reactions, she explained, “This crying has been here since we entered. It’s intermittent, happening every so often. We were quite scared at first, but we’ve gradually gotten used to it.”

Qi Yingyi: “Is there no pattern?”

Bei Caijie shook her head, “Maybe in terms of time, but the antique pendulum clock here isn’t working, so we can’t observe it.”

Bei Caijie paused and added, “However, the instruction map we received marked this room with a crying face.”

Jiang Tiao’s eyes lit up, “Could you show it to us?”

Bei Caijie looked at He Xinran.

He Xinran held all the clues they had obtained so far, including the candle. Bei Caijie had tried to take them several times, but He Xinran rebuffed her, citing that it was the man’s responsibility to carry things for the women. Although Bei Caijie was uncomfortable, he masked it with a display of gentlemanly demeanor, and she couldn’t say much in front of the cameras, lest she be criticized by He Xinran’s fans as ungrateful.

He Xinran couldn’t figure out any clues, but he also didn’t want Jiang Tiao and the others to steal the spotlight, so he hadn’t brought up any other clues. Hearing Bei Caijie’s words, his smile froze for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and good-naturedly handed the map to Jiang Tiao.

The map was indeed simple, just basic lines and arrows. Only at the end was a simple cartoon head drawn, somewhat resembling the ‘sad’ emoji on WeChat, except with two pigtails and two rows of tears drawn below the eyes.

Qi Yingyi and Luo Xingwen leaned in beside Jiang Tiao, stretching their necks to see. The map was a bit small, and Jiang Tiao worried they wouldn’t see clearly. After quickly glancing at it, he handed the candle and the instruction map to them, while he, using the candlelight, observed the paintings on the walls.

Wanting to impress, He Xinran was the first to voice his thoughts, “Whether it’s the instruction map or the intermittent background sound in the room, it’s all related to women and crying. And with so many oil paintings in the room, I was wondering if it was hinting at a specific oil painting. But I looked through them all, and the only one with tears is the one by the door, but it’s a man crying.”

He was referring to “The Fallen Angel” Lucifer. Jiang Tiao glanced at it and moved on, heading in the opposite direction.

This was a very abstract painting. Qi Yingyi and Luo Xingwen couldn’t quite understand it. They only felt it resembled a woman, but her face was fragmented, her nose, eyes, and mouth completely askew. Her facial contours were extremely distorted, half jaundiced and half pale green, appearing especially terrifying under the darkness and candlelight.

“You think it’s related to this painting?” He Xinran was dismissive. “But this painting doesn’t have any tears.”

Jiang Tiao: “The name of this painting is ‘Weeping Woman,’ by Picasso.”

He Xinran was publicly contradicted, and his expression turned quite unpleasant. He forced a smile and tried to cover his mistake, “So that’s how it is. As expected of an abstract artist. But the director is really overestimating us, making this episode so difficult and using the title as the riddle. If you didn’t know the name of this painting, who could possibly tell that it’s related to tears?”

Jiang Tiao looked at him, a very subtle expression on his face.

He Xinran’s heart skipped a beat.

[Oh my god, that’s so awkward. He shouldn’t have tried to compensate.]

[The woman in the painting is already “streaming tears,” and if he can’t see it himself, he’s still blaming the director for making it too difficult.]

[Picasso: I am not an abstract artist, I am a representative figure of Modernism!]

[Didn’t he establish a persona before about being good at painting, and even said his favorite painter was Van Gogh.]

[Picasso: Damn it, I’m not worthy!]

He Xinran knew he might have made a fool of himself. Both embarrassed and annoyed, he tried to brush it off with a laugh, “It seems the director wants us to find this painting.”

There was no response from anyone in the study, which made He Xinran feel even more awkward.

His expression turned grim as he looked at Jiang Tiao, who was engrossed in the painting, hatred simmering within him. Damn it, stop pretending. Deliberately acting serious to highlight my empty head, right?

Jiang Tiao wasn’t pretending. He was genuinely studying the painting’s nuances. He had also heard He Xinran’s remark, but firstly, he didn’t understand why He Xinran suddenly said such a meaningless thing, and secondly, since the answer to the remark was obvious, he felt there was no need to say anything further.

Seeing He Xinran’s gaze, Jiang Tiao felt inexplicably confused. He thought for a moment, intuitively feeling it was because he hadn’t responded to his words. Did he need to create some variety show effect? Did he need his response?

“Wow~!” Jiang Tiao, ever the good sport, applauded. “What you said is so right!”

“????”

He Xinran was furious, his nose practically steaming. What did Jiang Tiao mean by that?! Was he deliberately mocking him?!

[Hahaha hahahaha] The bullet comments erupted in laughter, with Luo Xingwen’s fans laughing the loudest.

[Retribution! This is retribution!]

[He likes to feign innocence and pretend not to understand people’s expressions, hahahaha, it’s not that there’s no retribution, it’s just that the time hasn’t come!]

[Jiang Tiao: Why is he staring at me instead of the painting? Oh! (Clenches right fist and hits left palm) So he’s a male princess who needs a response to every word!]

[Hahaha hahahaha Jiang · Inexplicably Confused · Tiao: I kindly offered to support him, why does his expression worsen?]

[Hahaha Jiang Tiao, he really is, so slow and yet so clever.]

After applauding, Jiang Tiao kindly waited for a moment, but the expected variety show effect didn’t appear. Could he keep waiting? Wouldn’t that just get them stuck here?

Jiang Tiao blinked his eyes and tentatively asked, “Do you have anything else you want to say?”

“……” He Xinran felt like his lungs were about to explode. He practically gritted his teeth as he said, “No!”

Jiang Tiao nodded, then reached out, shaking the painting frame from side to side, and forcefully pried it off the wall.

The mournful, hollow crying of the female ghost gradually turned into a scream, filled with resentment, sharp and piercing, as if Jiang Tiao wasn’t prying off a painting but their coffins.

The screaming stimulated their eardrums painfully, and all five were somewhat startled. Qi Yingyi, in particular, was so frightened that he directly hugged Luo Xingwen.

Luo Xingwen’s expression was darkened with lines. After a moment of hesitation, he ultimately patted Qi Yingyi reassuringly.

After a brief scare, He Xinran immediately regained his senses. Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to put Jiang Tiao in his place?

“Stop prying!” He Xinran acted as if he were reprimanding an inconsiderate junior. “If brute force worked, why would we need to solve any puzzles? Wouldn’t it be enough to just pry every painting one by one…”

“Bang—”

Before He Xinran could finish speaking, the base of the fireplace in the study suddenly fell away, revealing a pitch-black secret passage. The screaming, as if of vengeful spirits who had died unjustly, abruptly ceased.

Jiang Tiao looked at him, perplexed.

He Xinran felt like he could barely force a smile.